Friday Releases: Small Films Face Big Test At Box Office

With the Sankranti season wrapped up, attention now shifts to this Feb Friday’s releases. More than eight new films are arriving in theatres, but there is very little buzz around them. The main reason is the absence of star heroes in the lineup.

Director Gunasekhar, known for blockbusters like Okkadu and Choodalani Vundi, is returning with Euphoria. The film is being promoted by highlighting Sara Arjun, but since it deals with a serious theme, it remains to be seen how well it connects with the audience.

Karuna Kumar of Palasa fame is coming with the horror drama Honey. The film may need strong premiere talk to build momentum. The Tamil dubbed youthful love story ‘With Love’ is also releasing and looks slightly promising among the lot.

Sri Chidambaram Garu is trying different promotional strategies online to grab attention. Meanwhile, Barabar Premistha created some Controversy after its hero sang a bold song in pre-release event, though expectations remain low.

Sumathi Shatakam, which received a promotional video byte from Ravi Teja, is also hitting screens along with Erra Cheera, a film made with character artists in key roles.

Interestingly, re releases are dominating advance bookings. Ram Charan’s Orange is seeing better bookings than most of the new films. Dhanush’s 3 is also drawing decent numbers.

At a time when theatres are witnessing low footfalls, it is unclear which of these films will bring much needed energy to the box office. For these Friday releases, attracting audiences is important, but winning positive word of mouth over the weekend will be crucial.